Road to CIPP Certification

It’s been quite a journey to get certified. The initial plan was to take the exam in December during the winter break. However, the whole winter was spent to complete the law review note. It was fun to write the note but there wasn’t time for studying. As the new semester started, the schedule was busier than before due to new job/internship. During the spring break, I thought I would need to catch up with studies but decided to take CIPP first. It needed to be completed sooner or later.

The first step is to pick up the official book to read, and to practice using provided multiple choices. Reading the book was a mundane task as it’s 700 page long. It’s not too bad but it’s just a huge time commitment for me especially. During the week of spring break, I wasn’t able to do much for school work and internship. It’s a big relief after the exam is finished although there were a lot of work/study needed to be done. At least one of the todo list is completed. Therefore, I am over the moon at the moment.

Things I still remember (I always forget most of things after I finish the exam):

Analyzing the law:

Why? The purpose of the law exists.

Who is covered? The individual or entity needs to follow the law.

What is covered? The information that is covered.

Who enforces? The agency or law enforcement party.

What is required/prohibited? Requirement or prohibition that the law includes.

What are consequences? The punishment if the individual or entity is not compliant with the law.

I found this analysis especially useful as it helped me to understand the law better once I went through the process. It’s similar to IRAC system.